Join me in the process of writing, editing and publishing my memoir. Previous book titles were: Dear Mom and Dad, Please Send Money; Love Without Borders; and Unstoppable, My Journey to The House of Hope..

About Me

Born Linda Marie Cassells, my named changed over the years. I was called Miki in high school by close friends. My name was changed to Charity while a member of the Children of God in the 70's and then changed to Caridad, while living in Costa Rica. I began writing this Memoir In June 2010. I invite you to join me in the writing, editing, publishing and marketing journey.

Friday, March 29, 2013

The next step for “From
Tears to Triumph, My Journey to The House of Hope.

After
nearly three years of daily feeling, thinking, praying, writing and editing I
sent my “baby” to my writing coach, Linda Joy Myers (NAMW) for a complete examination.
When she’s through reviewing the 418-page, 104,000-word manuscript, I’ll be one
big step closer to the end project ─ a book in my hands
(and hopefully yours). I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is
bright and shiny, and yet scary.

As
you know, this has all been new to me. When I started out to write this memoir nearly three years ago, I really thought it would be relatively easy. I mean,
after all, it’s a true story and all I needed to do was put my memories onto
the written page.

RIGHT,
but WRONG.

Each
“memory” comes with a feeling and I had to dig deep and hard to surface the
feelings and events surrounding the memories. And sometimes I didn't WANT to remember certain events and the associated feelings--it was gut wrenching. That’s called memoir
writing. It’s different than fiction.

In
writing fiction, the author uses their imagination and creativity to bolster
the story percolating in their mind. In memoir writing you need to write the
truth or as close to the truth as you can possibly get…and since I don’t have every
conversation and event from all those years ago embedded in my memory bank, I
need to relate how it most likely happened, staying true to the story. The
journals, cassette tapes and letter to my parents that I have had in hand
during the process, have been incredibly valuable. It
wasn’t always easy, but it’s been so worth the journey.

Stay
tuned. And thank YOU for joining me in your hearts and prayers during the last
three years!